VOA标准英语2009年-Longer Prison Terms for Drug Dealers in Li

By Scott Stearns
Dakar
14 October 2009

Convicted drug dealers² in Liberia now face longer prison terms. It is part of a campaign to battle both foreign drug traffickers and domestic producers, some of whom enjoy the support of local villagers in a country where official unemployment tops 80 percent.

 
French military personnel keep a watch over confiscated³ cocaine⁴ in their vessel⁵ at the port of Monrovia, Liberia (File)
In the fight against illegal drugs, Liberian lawmakers have toughened criminal penalties for illegal narcotics⁶ dealers. Those suspects are no longer eligible⁷ for bail⁸ during their trial, and law enforcement officials have new powers to seize their assets.

But the biggest change is the length of time they face in jail. Before last month's tougher sentencing guidelines, drug dealers usually received between five and 10 years in prison.

James Jelah, the executive director of Liberia's Drug Enforcement Agency, says the tougher sentences are an important tool in the fight against illegal drugs.

"If you are arrested and sent to court and convicted, you could be sentenced to jail for not less than 25 years and not more than 60 years," he said.

Jelah says Liberian DEA agents uprooted¹⁰ more than 300,000 cannabis plants on 15 farms in Bong County and more than 120,000 plants in Nimba County. 

Enforcing the law is not always easy in a country where there are few jobs, and marijuana growers pay well.

"The DEA is trying to uproot⁹ the marijuana farms," he added. "And as a result, they were attacked by the townspeople. They put a blockade. They attacked them. Some shot single-barrel guns in the air. People came with machetes and sticks and they started beating up the DEA men. These guys had to jump in the bush."

Like efforts to fight illegal drug trafficking everywhere, reducing demand is part of the challenge.

A drug dealer¹, 26, has been arrested several times and says he was deported¹¹ from the United States for dealing¹² drugs. But he says drugs are part of his life, regardless of what the government in Monrovia might do.

"I sell it to foreigners, and I also sell it to Liberians," he said. " This is a money-making business. I do not care how much the government can do, this is our business. This is how we survive. So we cannot just do without drugs."

The trauma¹³ of a long civil war is also part of the fight against illegal drug use in Liberia. A former rebel, 29, has gone through the government's demobilization program, but has not lost the drug habit he acquired during the fight.

"I used to take in drugs while being a solider on the front line. It makes me very brave to shoot and kill my enemies," he said. "So I took in drugs for more than five years during the war in Liberia. So it is used to my system. I can not just live without it."

Unemployed¹⁴ former combatants are thought to be closely involved in Liberia's illegal drug trade - both the domestic production of marijuana and the importation of cocaine and heroin¹⁵.

DEA Director Jelah says West African drug traffickers are bringing narcotics into Liberia every way they can - by air, by sea, and by land.

"These Nigerians are also coming by land, coming to Liberia bringing in heroin and cocaine," said Jelah. "They come through Sierra Leone and Guinea and then from there they take a vehicle to come to Liberia."

Jelah says Liberian efforts to fight the illegal drug trade are hampered¹⁶ by a shortage of vehicles, computers, radios, and forensic¹⁷ laboratory equipment.

The Economic Community of West African States is working to better equip national drug enforcement agencies and harmonize regional criminal penalties against narcotics at a time when Latin American drug gangs are using the region as a transit¹⁸ point for cocaine shipments to Europe. 

Additional reporting from Monrovia by Prince Collins

1 dealer   

n.商人，贩子

参考例句：

• The dealer spent hours bargaining for the painting.那个商人为购买那幅画花了几个小时讨价还价。
• The dealer reduced the price for cash down.这家商店对付现金的人减价优惠。

2 dealers   

n.商人( dealer的名词复数 )；贩毒者；毒品贩子；发牌者

参考例句：

• There was fast bidding between private collectors and dealers. 私人收藏家和交易商急速竞相喊价。
• The police were corrupt and were operating in collusion with the drug dealers. 警察腐败，与那伙毒品贩子内外勾结。

3 confiscated   

没收，充公( confiscate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Their land was confiscated after the war. 他们的土地在战后被没收。
• The customs officer confiscated the smuggled goods. 海关官员没收了走私品。

4 cocaine   

n.可卡因，古柯碱（用作局部麻醉剂）

参考例句：

• That young man is a cocaine addict.那个年轻人吸食可卡因成瘾。
• Don't have cocaine abusively.不可滥服古柯碱。

5 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

6 narcotics   

n.麻醉药( narcotic的名词复数 )；毒品；毒

参考例句：

• The use of narcotics by teenagers is a problem in many countries. 青少年服用麻醉药在许多国家中都是一个问题。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Police shook down the club, looking for narcotics. 警方彻底搜查了这个俱乐部，寻找麻醉品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

8 bail   

v.舀（水），保释；n.保证金，保释，保释人

参考例句：

• One of the prisoner's friends offered to bail him out.犯人的一个朋友答应保释他出来。
• She has been granted conditional bail.她被准予有条件保释。

9 uproot   

v.连根拔起，拔除；根除，灭绝；赶出家园，被迫移开

参考例句：

• The family decided to uproot themselves and emigrate to Australia.他们全家决定离开故土，移居澳大利亚。
• The trunk of an elephant is powerful enough to uproot trees.大象的长鼻强壮得足以将树木连根拔起。

10 uprooted   

v.把（某物）连根拔起( uproot的过去式和过去分词 )；根除；赶走；把…赶出家园

参考例句：

• Many people were uprooted from their homes by the flood. 水灾令许多人背井离乡。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The hurricane blew with such force that trees were uprooted. 飓风强烈地刮着，树都被连根拔起了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 deported   

v.将…驱逐出境( deport的过去式和过去分词 )；举止

参考例句：

• They stripped me of my citizenship and deported me. 他们剥夺我的公民资格，将我驱逐出境。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The convicts were deported to a deserted island. 罪犯们被流放到一个荒岛。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

13 trauma   

n.外伤，精神创伤

参考例句：

• Counselling is helping him work through this trauma.心理辅导正帮助他面对痛苦。
• The phobia may have its root in a childhood trauma.恐惧症可能源于童年时期的创伤。

14 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。

15 heroin   

n.海洛因

参考例句：

• Customs have made their biggest ever seizure of heroin.海关查获了有史以来最大的一批海洛因。
• Heroin has been smuggled out by sea.海洛因已从海上偷运出境。

16 hampered   

妨碍，束缚，限制( hamper的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The search was hampered by appalling weather conditions. 恶劣的天气妨碍了搜寻工作。
• So thought every harassed, hampered, respectable boy in St. Petersburg. 圣彼德堡镇的那些受折磨、受拘束的体面孩子们个个都是这么想的。

17 forensic   

adj.法庭的，雄辩的

参考例句：

• The report included his interpretation of the forensic evidence.该报告包括他对法庭证据的诠释。
• The judge concluded the proceeding on 10:30 Am after one hour of forensic debate.经过近一个小时的法庭辩论后，法官于10时30分宣布休庭。

18 transit   

n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过

参考例句：

• His luggage was lost in transit.他的行李在运送中丢失。
• The canal can transit a total of 50 ships daily.这条运河每天能通过50条船。